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Linda McRae – The Interview

Sep 23 2015

Linda McRae has just released her latest album, the Steve Dawson produced “Shadow Trails”, an album of songs inspired by workshops that she and her partner – retired rancher turned poet, James Whitmire have been doing with at risk youth. The album features Linda McRae on guitar, banjo and vocals with Steve Dawson (guitar, additional banjo and backing vocals), Steve O’Connor (keyboards) and a rhythm section of John Dymond (bass) and Gary Craig (drums) alongside a group of special guests that includes Ray Bonneville (harmonica) and Fats Kaplin (fiddle). The album is chock full of raw, honest reflections on hardship delivered in her own inimitable rough-hewn style. Linda brings the new album to Silence in Guelph on Friday October 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance (no booking fee), $25 at the door. BUY TICKETS. We caught up with Linda on the road in the US. Music: Linda McRae “Long Shadow Trail”, “My Man” and “Jesus Or Jail” from “Shadow Trails” (2015, Borealis Records). Photo: Doug Lang.

Album Of The Week – Ange Hardy ‘Esteesee’

Sep 22 2015

Somerset, England based singer-songwriter Ange Hardy has just released “Esteesee” (2015, Story Records), a great new album of songs inspired by the life and work of English romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834) – the ‘Esteesee’ in the title (pronounced Ess-Tee-See), or as he preferred to refer to himself S.T.C. A follow up to the critically-acclaimed “The Lament of the Black Sheep” (2014, Story Records), Esteesee finds Ange Hardy stretching herself by taking on specific source material but coming up trumps with a stellar set of wonderfully arranged songs.

Sep 21 2015

Brenda McMorrow has just released her latest album “My Heart Bows Down To You”, a fabulous blend of western folk music, world rhythms and Indian devotional music (Kirtan). Brenda celebrates the release of the album with a Guelph show at Sukha Yoga Centre, 42 Wyndham St North #101C on Saturday September 26 at 7:30 p.m., featuring Morgan Doctor (percussion) and Chris Gartner (bass), with backing vocals from Shannon Kingsbury & Tannis Slimmon. We caught up with Brenda at home in Guelph. Music: Brenda McMorrow, “My Heart Bows Down To You/ Maha Mantra” and I Open My Arms To Love/ Jai Radhe (2015, White Swan Records).

Episode 209: Stephen Fearing & The Once

Sep 18 2015

This week’s Folk Roots Radio features two interviews – Stephen Fearing joins us to chat about his songwriting workshop and concert, taking place on Friday September 25 in Waterloo ON. And later, we catch up with Newfoundland band The Once at this summer’s Hillside Festival. As always, there’s a lot of new music on the show, and we continue our run down of the nominations for the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Sep 18 2015

Brenda McMorrow celebrates the release of her latest album “My Heart Bows Down to You” with a Guelph show at Sukha Yoga Centre, 42 Wyndham St North #101C on Saturday September 26 at 7:30 p.m. Brenda’s unique blend of folk melodies, world rhythms and sacred Indian devotional music (Kirtan) has found an enthusiastic worldwide audience. Her tuneful, uplifting interpretations of traditional Sanskrit mantras lovingly melded with her own original lyrics and excerpts of poems by the Sufi mystic Rumi has produced music that is uplifting, inspiring and ultimately transformational. Ram Dass describes Brenda as having “a gift” – a gift to bring deeply spiritual but very accessible music to listeners worldwide. Joining Brenda for her Guelph CD release show will be Morgan Doctor (percussion) and Chris Gartner (bass) with backing vocals from Shannon Kingsbury & Tannis Slimmon.

Sep 17 2015

The Once are Geraldine Hollett, Phil Churchill and Andrew Dale. They’ve been making quite the name for themselves for their live shows and their recorded work. Their latest album – their third, and first on Nettwerk is “Departures”, and quite a departure it is, featuring much more of their own original songwriting alongside some choice covers. The album has garnered some rave reviews, and they’ve just come off a world tour with Passenger (English folk-rock singer-songwriter Michael David Rosenberg). Its clear that this band are going places. We caught up with Geraldine, Phil and Andrew shortly after they came off the Lake Stage at this summer’s Hillside Festival. The Once will be touring Canada again this fall. Check out all the dates HERE. Photo: Chris Ledrew. Music: The Once “Into The Life” and “We Are All Running” from “Departures” (2014, Nettwerk).

Anne Lindsay at Alton Mill

Sep 16 2015

Genre-defying fiddler Anne Lindsay will be bringing her new album “Soloworks” to the Paul Morin Gallery at the Alton Mill Arts Centre on September 24. The gallery has fabulous acoustics and a view to die for, looking out over the mill pond. Anne Lindsay is a session player extraordinaire, having played the fiddle for Led Zeppelin, Blue Rodeo, James Taylor and The Chieftains to name just a few. Her new solo album “Soloworks” is fabulous and crosses many borders, featuring songs and tunes composed by Anne for violin, nyckelharpa (a Swedish keyed violin – you learn something new every day), piano and voice, and a cello tune played by Amy Laing. This should be a fabulous evening. Photo: Kevin Kelly.

Stephen Fearing in Waterloo - Folk Roots Radio Interview

Sep 15 2015

Renowned Canadian singer-songwriter Stephen Fearing will be in Waterloo ON on Friday September 25 2015 for a day-long songwriting workshop and a solo evening concert. The songwriting workshop takes place at The Button Factory, 25 Regina St. S.in Waterloo. The evening concert takes place at First United Church, 16 William St. W., Waterloo at 8:00 pm. We caught up with Stephen at his new home in B.C. to chat about his music and this special opportunity to catch him live. Music: Stephen Fearing “The Golden Days” and “As The Crow Flies” from “Between Hurricanes” (2013, Lowdenproud). Photo: Jason MacNamara.

Perch Creek – The Interview

Sep 12 2015

Perch Creek are an Australian five-piece multi-instrumental, harmony-driven roots group featuring four siblings who put on an amazing live show and are quite clearly lots of fun in their off-stage life, too. They were on tour in Canada this summer while promoting their new single “Mama Sings”. The band features Christi Hodgkins – harmonica, trombone, saw, vocals, Lear Hodgkins – drums, washboard, vocals, Eileen Hodgkins – guitar, banjo-uke, tap dancing, vocals, Camilla Hodgkins – keys, banjo, vocals and the only non-Hodgkins (or perhaps, now an honorary Hodgkins) James Chandler on double bass, electric bass, vocals. Perch Creek got together as the Perch Creek Family Jugband in 2006, recording two full-length albums “Tall Tales” (2011) and “Jumping on the Highwire” (2014), which was nominated for Best Independent Country Album for the Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards). They’ve since moved to Melbourne and will be working on a new album in the near future. Perch Creek have toured extensively across Australia, Europe, the UK and now Canada and deliver unforgettable, high-energy live performances. Christi, Eileen, Camilla and James from the band joined us for a chat and a live song just prior to this year’s Hillside Festival. For more information, visit perchcreek.com. Music: Perch Creek “Mama Sings” (Single) (2015, MGM Distribution), Perch Creek “Where You Been” from “Jumping On The High Wire” (2014, Self) and “Something In The Valley” (Live).

Folk Roots Radio Episode 208: Perch Creek

Sep 11 2015

This week’s Folk Roots Radio features an interview with Australian roots band Perch Creek recorded just before this summer’s Hillside festival. Perch Creek are great fun, and put on a fabulous live show. It’s a great interview, and definitely worthing checking out – they even pulled out their instruments to play a song for us in their hotel room! As always we found time for a lot of new music we’ve received and kicked off a new weekly feature on the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards, taking place in Edmonton from November 6-8 2015.

Sep 11 2015

The Sultans of String are about to release their latest album, “Subcontinental Drift”, a collaboration with sitar master Anwar Khurshid. To celebrate the release, Folk Roots Radio has been given two amazing prize packs to give away. Included in the prize pack are two tickets for the Saturday September 19 show at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener and a Sultans of String four-CD pack.

Want to get in on the draw to win this fabulous prize? Get in touch via the website, social media or an e-mail to jan[at]folkrootsradio.com. Good luck!

Sep 11 2015

The Mill Race Society’s biweekly traditional music sessions take place on the 2nd and 4th Sunday from 2–4pm through the winter and spring. The pub sessions are informal gatherings for musicians who enjoy playing traditional jigs, hornpipes etc! The repertoire is primarily English music, although some tunes are shared with the Irish, Scottish, Canadian, and American traditions. Sounds like lots of fun. Musicians (and non-musicians) are welcome.

2nd Sunday: Brownstone Gastro Pub
39 Queen St. E., Hespeler Village, Cambridge
2015 dates: Sep. 13, Nov. 8. (No session Oct. 11)

4th Sunday: Argyle Arms
210 King St. East, Preston, Cambridge
2015 dates: Sep. 27, Oct. 18, Nov. 22

For more information visit millracefolksociety.com.

Canadian Folk Music Awards 2015

Sep 11 2015

The nominations for the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards have been announced. Pharis and Jason Romero lead the pack with four nominations for their album “A Wanderer I’ll Stay”. Their nominations include Traditional Album of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Traditional Singer of the Year (Pharis Romero), and Producer of the Year (Pharis and Jason Romero with David Travers-Smith). Amelia Curran (St John’s, NL), Fortunate Ones (St John’s, NL), Jenn Grant (Lake Echo, NS), Whitehorse (Toronto, ON) and Catherine MacLellan (Charlottetown, PEI) each received three nominations.

This year’s youngest nominee is nine year old Vancouver Island artist Stella Swanson for the album “I’m Not A Bunny” in the Children’s Album of the Year category. Inspired by Stella’s pet bunny Romeo, the album was produced by Comox’s Helen Austin, a previous Canadian Folk Music Award and Juno Award recipient and a nominee this year with her group Big Little Lions.

Check out the full list of nominees here. We’ll be previewing the nominees on upcoming editions of Folk Roots Radio.

Sep 09 2015

Linda McRae brings her solo show to Silence on Friday October 9 in support of her new album, “Shadow Trails”. Linda is perhaps most widely known for her time with Spirit of the West, and prominent involvement on two of their most enduring songs, “Home for a Rest” and “If Venice is Sinking”. Since leaving the band in 1996, however she has developed a very successful solo album culminating in the release of an excellent solo compilation, and a fabulous introduction to her music, “Fifty Shades of Red” in 2014.

Sep 08 2015

Gathering Sparks, the graceful collision between Eve Goldberg and Jane Lewis, open the 2015-2016 Home Routes Guelph season on Thursday September 17 at 8 p.m. Musical friends who bonded over finely tuned harmonies and the craft of songwriting, their inclusive approach embraces folk, pop, blues and gospel influences tastefully played on acoustic guitar, piano, accordion, ukulele, and banjo.

Sep 07 2015

The protest song lives on. Land of Hope & Fury is a new album of protest songs born out of what the project organizers describe as crushing disappointment with the results of the May 2015 UK general election. This cathartic release, out now on Union Music Store features 16 great songs from UK musicians in various stages of their career, that focus on issues such as inequality and disenfranchisement that are as relevant to life in 2015 in Canada and the US as they are to life in the UK. The album, featuring a who’s who from the UK folk and roots scene… is very strong, and very thoughtfully sequenced. I really didn’t appreciate any lagging across the 16 tracks on offer.

Sep 04 2015

The Sultans of String are bringing their latest release, “Subcontinental Drift”, a collaboration with sitar master Anwar Khurshid (Oscar winning Life of Pi, Love Guru) to the Registry Theatre in Kitchener on Saturday September 19.

Sultans of String are a fabulous live band and a must-see for anyone who loves folk, world and jazz rhythms put through a blender and delivered with panache by a kick-ass string band. This promises to be a great show! Check out all the details and some comments from the band below.

Sep 04 2015

Episode 207 of Folk Roots Radio features an excerpt from a live interview and session recorded with singer-songwriter Clela Errington for Folk Roots Radio Overtime. Clela will be part of Erin Roots, a new monthly live roots music series taking place in Erin ON. This week’s show also featured lots of new music including an extended set from a fabulous new album of protest songs from the UK, Land of Hope & Fury.

Sep 04 2015

“Erin Roots” is an exciting new monthly roots music series taking place at The Busholme Inn in Erin ON. Erin Roots, a collaboration between Erin Radio and Folk Roots Radio, aims to bring affordable great live roots music to Erin while, at the same time, recording the shows for future broadcast. The first Erin Roots show takes on Saturday September 12 and features two fabulous singer-songwriters, Tannis Slimmon and Clela Errington. Crossover roots duo Jennis and The Banjo Mechanics take to the stage on October 24 with more shows to come.

Aug 01 2015

Guelph-based singer-songwriter Rob Mitchell joined us in the studio at CFRU 93.3fm for Folk Roots Radio Overtime on August 1. Rob is releasing his latest album “Things Could Be Worse”, a reflection on the endless days and nights spent within hospital hallways dealing with his son’s recent diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes and reflecting on the loss of his Mother to cancer 10 years ago at Silence in Guelph on August 8 at 8:00 p.m. Cover: $10 (PWYC) Music: Rob Mitchell “St Paul” from “Things Could Be Worse” (2015, Self), “Shine Again” (Live), “Dylan’s Harp” (Live). “Ground Floor” from “Things Could Be Worse” (2015, Self), “Sweet Talking” (Live), “Canadian Love Song” (Live), “Pine Trees” (Live) and “Things Could Be Worse” from “Things Could Be Worse” (2015, Self).

Episode 206: Kingsville Folk Music Festival 2015

Jul 31 2015

John & Michelle Law, artistic directors at the Kingsville Folk Music Festival join us on this week’s show to talk about this year’s festival (year two) taking place from August 7-9 in beautiful Lakeside Park in Kingsville on the shores of Lake Erie. Later in the show, Southern Ontario roots songstress Allison Brown joins us to chat about her fabulous new album “Stitches and Incisions”. As usual, we also find time for our mystery theme and guilty pleasure alongside some great new releases.

Jul 28 2015

Southern Ontario roots songstress Allison Brown is just about to release her latest album “Stitches and Incisions”. Featuring five originals and three classics, “Stitches And Incisions” was recorded and co-produced by Andy Magoffin at the House Of Miracles in Preston, Ontario. Allison is just about to embark on a 95 day tour with mandolin accompanist, Uncle Dan Henshall that will take her from Ontario out to Newfoundland, before heading to Manitoba via Northern Ontario for a Home Routes house concert tour. Allison is in Guelph at The Cornerstone on Saturday August 8. We caught up with Allison at home in London. For more information visit www.allisonbrown.ca. Photo: Mike Beauchamp. Music: Allison Brown “Scavengers”, “Invisible Line” and “Please Send Me Someone To Love” from “Stitches And Incisions” (2015, Self).

Rob Mitchell at Silence – August 8

Jul 28 2015

Guelph-based singer-songwriter Rob Mitchell joins us live in the studio on Folk Roots Radio Overtime on August 1 from 10-11 a.m. on CFRU 93.3fm. His latest album, “Things Could Be Worse”, is a reflection on the endless days and nights spent within hospital hallways dealing with his son’s recent diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes and reflecting on the loss of his Mother to cancer 10 years ago. His previous album “Parking Lot Sunset” featured songs that had been hanging around in his notebook like a drunken co-worker at the office party – a collection of moments in an ever-changing life. His intimate debut “On With The Show” took personal experiences of love, loss and starting over to create an album of melodic and reflective songs that allows the listener to make connections of their own. Rob has a show at Silence in Guelph on August 8 at 8:00 p.m. Cover: $10 (PWYC)

Episode 205: Ian Foster & David Ross MacDonald

Jul 27 2015

Episode 205 of Folk Roots Radio features interviews with two fabulous singer-songwriters – Ian Foster from St. Johns NF and Australian (but no stranger to Guelph), David Ross MacDonald. They’ll be sharing the stage, and swopping songs and stories at the great Guelph listening venue Silence on Thursday July 30. It promises to be a great night. I hope you’ll consider joining us! BUY TICKETS. As usual we also found time for our mystery theme, guilty pleasure and lots of new music.

Jul 22 2015

The 26th EagleWood Folk Festival takes place on the weekend of August 29 in Beautiful Pefferlaw ON. After being forced to leave its long-time home, the festival reinvented itself last year at the beautiful Living Landscapes on Homestead Rd in Pefferlaw. The new country garden setting is perfect for one of the more intimate festivals in the summer calendar and remains true to it’s philosophy of providing outstanding entertainment for a reasonable price. “Fresh Air, Good Vibes, Great Music” will always remain at the heart of the EagleWood Folk Festival! For more information and to buy tickets, visit their new website at ewfolk.ca. Check out the line-up below.

Linda McRae – The Interview

Album Of The Week – Ange Hardy ‘Esteesee’

Brenda McMorrow – The Interview

Episode 209: Stephen Fearing & The Once

Brenda McMorrow: CD Release

The Once at Hillside

Anne Lindsay at Alton Mill

Stephen Fearing in Waterloo – Folk Roots Radio Interview

Perch Creek – The Interview

Folk Roots Radio Episode 208: Perch Creek

Sultans of String Ticket & CD Giveaway

The Mill Race Society British Isles Pub Sessions

Canadian Folk Music Awards 2015

Linda McRae – October 9

Home Routes Guelph 2015/2016

Album of the Week – Land of Hope & Fury

Sultans of String at The Registry

Folk Roots Radio Episode 207: feat. Peter Boyer & Clela Errington

Erin Roots – Clela Errington & Tannis Slimmon

Rob Mitchell – In The Studio

Episode 206: Kingsville Folk Music Festival 2015

Allison Brown – Stitches and Incisions

Rob Mitchell at Silence – August 8

Episode 205: Ian Foster & David Ross MacDonald

Eaglewood Folk Festival 2015